Rwanda installs hand-washing facilities at bus station

Rwanda authorities have installed hand-washing facilities at a bus station in the capital, Kigali, as a preventive measure against the deadly coronavirus.

A pro-government newspaper said on Tuesday that the country had stepped up vigilance as the virus sweeps across the continent.

“To prevent the risk of Coronavirus outbreak, passengers at the Kigali Bus Park have to wash their hands before getting onto buses,” The New Times (Rwanda) reported.

SEEN IN KIGALI: To prevent the risk of #Coronavirus outbreak, passengers at the Kigali Bus Park have to wash their hands before getting onto buses.#Rwanda has recorded NO case of the epidemic but the country has stepped up vigilance. pic.twitter.com/tb7cfUNj7K

— The New Times (Rwanda) (@NewTimesRwanda) March 9, 2020

Rwanda is among African countries that have not recorded a case of the epidemic since its outbreak three months ago.

Egypt, where the first coronavirus case was first reported in Africa, has recorded 59 cases, Algeria (20 cases), South Africa (7 cases), Tunisia (5 cases) and Senegal (4 cases).

Burkina Faso, Morocco, Nigeria and Cameroon have two confirmed cases each while Togo has one case of the flu-like virus.

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlights some of the ways to reduce the risk of infection include:

• Washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick

Those individuals with cold-like symptoms, have been advised to:

• Stay home if they feel they are unwell
• To avoid close contact with others
• To cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands
• To clean and disinfect objects and surfaces they come in contact with

The virus, known as Covid-19, has now infected close to 114,000 people worldwide and resulted in more than 4,000 deaths.

The majority of these cases are in mainland China, where the outbreak first emerged but the rate of infection has been slowing in the country.

Italy is the second worst hit country. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described the outbreak as the country's "darkest hour" as death toll jumped to 463.

The number of confirmed infections in Italy also increased to 9,172, up from 7,375 on Sunday.

In an unprecedented move, all of Italy and its 60 million residents have been placed under lockdown as part of quarantine measures intended to contain the outbreak.